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Topic: TARA 3 Henry & Bernie (Malaysia) (Read 9590 times)

Fans of Asian reality television might recognize model and host Bernie Chan – she was the face of Project Runway Malaysia last year. But few would recognize her race teammate and elder brother, Henry Chan.

It is not because the 43 year old isn't famous, but rather because the chef and restaurant owner has had reconstructive surgery done in late 2006. "In Aug 2006, I fell over and broke my jaw very badly. I've had reconstructive surgery on my face and mouth, but I'm all fixed up now," says Henry Chan with a gleaming smile that shows no record of his accident.

But it is what's inside that counts and the siblings are hoping that their 39 year old relationship will give them an edge. Says Bernie, 39, "Finding the right partner to do it with is half the race won and Hen is the only person who understands what I'm trying to say half the time."

Hen, of course, is her nickname for her brother, in response to the name Bernie he coined, since he could not pronounce her actual name, Bernadette, as a child.

"I thought it would be fun, stressful but fun. I love traveling and I thought, if I get in, it would be the biggest challenge of my life," she adds.

Sums up Henry on the natural choice of picking each other as teammate, "We don't really fight, we think alike and we get on crazily well."

But if there is one thing the siblings do not share, is their behavior. Henry is the more contemplative of the two, preferring to sit back and analyze the situation while his sister leaps at every available opportunity. Like Henry says, "I tend to think about things too much, while she tends to just act and think about things later."

Explains Bernie, "I'm too impulsive! If I want to do something, it has to be done now," and adds, "My strategy is to try and stay calm but with have a sense of urgency and just go with our instinct. Luck plays a big part too which to me comes with being positive and happy, which Hen and I are."

As for preparing, one thing Henry did have to pick up was learning how to drive a manual transmission. Naturally, his coach was his baby sister and given their hectic schedule, it wasn't the best of lessons. Groans Henry, "Bernie gave me a crash-course in the pouring rain, at night, in peak hour Kuala Lumpur traffic.

But learn he did and the driving lessons show the extent that the duo has worked together. Admits Bernie, "Even though I shout at Hen, he will know it's not personal and in the next second we will be buddies again. And he won't quit on me."

Quitting is the last thing on Henry's mind though, as he had already mapped out a plan on how to celebrate if they win. "We go back to one of the favourite countries we visited in the race but this time round, we do it in five-star style."

Being one of the two Malaysian teams in The Amazing Race Asia 3, the Chan siblings have much to share.

It's almost like watching a soap opera, a comedy and a high-speed race all rolled into one. In the first two seasons of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA), we’ve witnessed plenty of meltdowns (Vanessa and Pamela in season two, Sahran and Howard in season one), we’ve seen relationships break down (Edwin and Monica and Terri and Henry in season two) and we’ve cheered along to some pretty tense showdowns.

Yes, viewers across Asia loved the Asian edition of the multiple Emmy Award-winning reality race around the world – more than 19 million viewers across Asia tuned in to the weekly episodes last season.

Bernie and Henry can hardly wait to see themselves on air. And now, the third season – touted by producers as “The Toughest Race” – is about to kick off and, judging by the number of actors, models and beauty queens on board, I think we can pretty much expect lots of drama. And action too.

This season will see 10 teams from India, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and, for the first time, from South Korea.

Once again, Malaysia is represented by two teams: model/actress Bernie Chan and her older brother, Henry, a chef; and actress Ida Nerina and her friend Tania Khan who is profiled on the show as “the heiress”.

As entertaining as the race is for us at home, for the racers it was one arduous task after another.

“It was relentless ... everything was a blur. It is like nothing you have ever experienced before, really. I have worked in busy kitchens where I had to cook 100 dinners ... but in no way did it compare to what we had to go through in the race. You never really know what is going to happen. Sometimes you think it is the end of the leg and then no, we get another clue and realise the race is still on,” says 43-year-old Henry during a recent interview with The Star.

Though based in Australia for the last few years, Henry recently returned to Malaysia for a break.

Adds Bernie, 39: “It really pushes you to your limit and you will be surprised to know how tough our bodies are. I think I stepped it up by at least 50%.

“The hardest part of the race for me were the roadblocks where you would be torn away from your teammate. I did not like it because Henry would go off to do the roadblock while I waited and I would have no idea what was happening or how things were going.”

Another challenge for Bernie, shares her brother, was having to be in-communicado with family and friends for the entire duration of the race.

“It was easier for me because I told everyone in Australia that I would be in Malaysia and vice versa. And, I am hopeless at replying my e-mail and SMS-es. But for Bernie, she could be in a Turkish prison and she’d still be sending out messages on her phone,” says Henry.

“Not that I have ever been in a Turkish prison,” Bernie clarifies.

TARA premiered for the first in 2006 and follows the same format as the original American version. However, only 10 teams compete for the ultimate prize of US$100,000 (RM321,000) in the Asian version, compared to 12 teams vying for US$1mil in the original Race.

So will we get to see a more frazzled, rowdy side of the usually composed and perfectly styled runway beauty?

“You will see the girl from PJ Old Town,” says Bernie with a laugh. “I have never been so filthy in all my life. If this was a holiday, it would have been the holiday from hell.”

Nevertheless, Bernie admits that she did bring along her flat iron in an attempt to look as presentable as possible.

“I started off looking presentable and after a while you will think, ‘Is that her?’ After a while I just stopped thinking about it. You are going to see a different side of me,” she warns.

Apart from a decent level of physical fitness, choosing the right teammate is vital in a race like this, reckons Bernie.

“I realised during the race that our race partner is the most important thing to have in the race. I mean we had our fair share of disagreements but we are not really the bickering type. We just shout a lot.”

Explains Henry: “As the youngest two siblings in the family ... it was always us against the other four. We get along really well but I think the whole notion of working as a team has never been so strong (as in the Race). I definitely saw a really tough side of Bernie ... I’d always be watching her to see if I could push her harder and she always could meet the challenges.”

“He never once carried my bag for me ...” taunts Bernie, “not that I ever asked him to.”

Although they did not really form a strategy or game plan for the race, the two decided that Henry would tackle the more mental challenges while Bernie would go for the physical ones.

“Did you hear what he said? That he would do the mental ones and I would be more suitable for the brainless ones!” quips Bernie, adding that she is more impulsive than her brother who thinks things through.

“You will probably see us laughing a lot throughout the race because we both find the strangest things funny,” shares Henry.

Though they may have made some mistakes along the way, the siblings are proud of the way they ran the race.

“We were always in our own zone and we were open to everything. I have no regrets about what we did or said throughout the race,” says Henry, refusing to divulge any more.

“And we were good sportsmen and we did not ride on anyone’s wave,” says Bernie, adding that they made “friends for life” with “some” of the teams.

Does this spell conflict among some teams then?

“Well, let’s just say we saw some people for what they really are. Thankfully, there was never a situation where we had to rely on another team. We always had a choice ... whether or not we wanted to work with another team,” says Bernie candidly.

Having said that, the two clarify that what you see of the people on the race is not always who they really are. The intensity of the race, they claim, causes tempers to flare and people to lash out.

“It is really a high pressured race. Sometimes, you see a person react on TV and you assume that that’s the character of the person. I think it’s the other way round really. I think you see who they really are in the short snippets of interviews done with the teams in each episode,” says Henry.

Having never seen footage of the race, the two Chan siblings are as eager as fans of the series for TARA 3 to go on air. And what have they learnt?

FOR all future contenders of The Amazing Race Asia, take a leaf out of Bernie Chan's book.

No matter how stinky, disgusting and downright brutal the competition gets, there is no excuse for having bad hair on television.

That is why the 39-year-old Malaysian model-turned-actress/TV host packed her flat iron - a tool for straightening hair - in her race bag.

She also took along a white Tod's canvas handbag for days when the racers took a break, and a small bag of toiletries, skincare lotions, waterproof mascara and face powder.

Bernie - short for Bernadette - told The New Paper her reason was simple: 'Must at least try to look a bit pretty on television, right?

'And the handbag can be rolled up.'

Those were the only luxuries Bernie allowed herself in the third season of the popular reality TV series, which premieres on Thursday over AXN (StarHub Ch 19) at 9pm.

The bubbly star, who is now based in Singapore, joined the race with her brother - 43-year-old chef Henry. They were one of two Malaysian teams this season.

She recalled both of them kept screaming at each other a lot during the race. 'But we were polite to everyone else around us,' she added.

Bernie, the youngest of six children, did reveal that she did all the roadblocks that required her to use her muscles more than her brains.

And keeping clean and looking pretty?

SCREAMING SIBLINGS: Bernie and her brother Henry often yelled at each other during the race. PICTURES: THE STRAITS TIMES, AXN Well, that was another challenge entirely.

'There was one leg of the race... I just stood under the shower and when I opened my eyes, the water was black,' she said.

Eventually, the flat iron didn't get used that much; Bernie kept her hair tied most of the time.

With the race over, the adventurous babe is now taking on Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. It is produced by new theatre company Zebra Crossing, formed by veteran theatre producer Felina Khong, and will be staged at the Drama Centre from 1 to 12 Oct.

However, Bernie said she started to 'hyperventilate' after reading the script to the R(A) play.

'I told Ling, my manager, 'I may be brazen, but what would my (80-year-old) mother say?'

Eventually, Bernie met the play's director Loretta Chen, who put her at ease about talking about the most intimate part of her body on stage.

At the moment though, Bernie's big concern is getting her script memorised.

'My concentration span is zero. I will read one line and before I know it, I pick up my phone and start SMS-ing,' she said.

You can accuse Bernie Chan of many things, but you definitely cannot accuse her of taking the easy way out.

The multi-talented Eurasian-Chinese beauty (who is a TV host, actress, emcee and former model) has already made a name for herself in Malaysia. After her stint on television as the host of Project Runway Malaysia (shown on 8TV in 2007), a participant on reality gameshow The Amazing Race Asia 3 (on AXN last year) and more recently as tough-as-nails news editor Andrea in TV drama Frontpage, she's become quite a household name here. Chan, 39, could have easily stayed here to build an even bigger presence for herself.

Yet in September 2008, Chan relocated to Singapore to try and establish herself there – effectively taking a huge pay cut – and at a time when the city state's economy is taking a downturn.

It was a move that not many understood. In fact, some thought that it was a step back since Chan is not an established name in the Lion City. They asked: "Why give up your comfortable life to go there?"

"Why not?" Chan retorts. "Why not try somewhere else and see where you can go from there?"

Our candid conversation takes place one sunny afternoon at Cocoon, a beauty and wellness floor of The Gardens, MidValley City in Kuala Lumpur. As a make-up artist applies glittery eye shadow and fixes her eyelashes for the shoot, Chan, a pro at modelling, continues chatting.

"I'm happy where I'm at in KL, but I wanted to try greener pastures. I guess I've got some ambition left in me!" she says with an infectious laugh.

Take two

"Singapore has been very humbling because I have to start from the bottom all over again," says Chan.

Having lived there before she returned to Kuala Lumpur seven years ago, making it her base was not a difficult task as she still have friends and contacts there. However, getting there was another story altogether. "Deciding to move was easy, living there is easy, but making the move was the hardest part because I had to give away my 14-year-old cat," she adds.

That, and her home, car, and her pick of jobs. It was also not easy giving up being near her family, whom she is quite close to. Needless to say, Kuala Lumpur was a very comfortable place to be for her. "But for me, being in that comfort zone for too long makes you complacent. It was time to get up," she explains. She felt then that it was time to "expand her wings, learn, and grow".

But it didn't mean that she had no doubts. "While I was moving to Singapore, I kept thinking, what the hell am I doing? Life is so much easier for me here and I wondered why I moved. But I know that if don't try, I will never do it," Chan recalls.

"A good friend who's in the fashion industry in Singapore said to me, ‘You learn what you do now and you've honed your skills, and now it's time to make full use of it in Singapore'," she says. Chan, who turns 40 in May, quips: "Forty is the new 30, I hear! In my head I'll be 30 forever – and hopefully my face and body!" While Bernie is someone who speaks openly about her work, she is famously tight-lipped about her personal life. "All I want to say is that I am learning to be on my own again," she says, refusing to comment further about her love life despite much prodding from the writer.

Acting chops

Right now, her goal is to concentrate on building her career in Singapore – not an easy task thanks to Singaporean recession.

"People have cut budgets, I will not deny it. But you just have to work harder to survive," she says with a shrug.

That's not a problem for her since she's worked hard all her life, and it didn't hurt that work was something she loves doing.

Still, despite that obstacle, Chan has managed to keep herself busy on the island republic. After signing up with talent management company Fly Entertainment founded by comedienne Irene Ang (who played the wife in hit sitcom Phua Chu Kang), she has snagged a few jobs.

She has just shot a telemovie called Sweet Tapioca Porridge, where she has a small part playing a "desperate young single mother" trying to seduce the love interest of the main character, played by Mediacorp artiste Michelle Chong.

In October last year, she was involved in the play Vagina Monologues. While the original play had three women, this version had nine, ranging from a character in her early 20s to a woman who is almost 60.

Bernie calls the play "interactive". "We packed out (the 500-seat theatre) at 85% most of the night. Every newspaper gave us a good review.

"I brought my madness and my willingness to let go to my character. It was nice to get a review that I was versatile," reveals Bernie, smiling. "Bernie Chan could actually act – it's quite nice!"

The Singaporean theatre scene is very vibrant and active, says Chan. "They get more support from the government and private bodies there."

Although emceeing is her "bread and butter", acting holds a certain allure for her.

"(When you act), you get to be different types of people. Maybe there's something wrong with me, maybe I have a multiple personality disorder," she says, chuckling. "You get to understand people more. Acting has taught me to be more accepting of people."

Not a celebrity

Since the day her elder brother Charlz dragged her to modelling agency Cilla and Associates in 1987, Chan has lived in the limelight, first as a clotheshorse strutting down runways in Malaysia and abroad, and later as an emcee and TV personality. Yet, Chan has never felt comfortable being called a celebrity. She also seemed flattered yet confused when she found out that young girls look up to her.

"I am not quite sure I like the C word: celebrity. Everyone and their dog is a celebrity. Who gives the person that name?" she remarks, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

Which is another reason why she likes living in Singapore – she can go around incognito.

"(In Malaysia) I get stopped by people who want to talk about the Amazing Race – and that's fine. My work is very high profile, but I like to think I'm quite low profile and a private person. So it's quite refreshing to live in Singapore ... it's not a hard life," she says.

Then, dressed in a sleek, black evening gown with a glamorous white throw from Chanel, looking poised and perfect, she makes a remarkable statement.

"I was ugly most of my life, so I didn't think about (becoming a model)," Bernie exclaims. "I was tall and gangly, I was ugly! I still have ugly days."

"You look like you don't believe me! But it's true!" Chan insists, giving me her trademark vivacious laugh. "It's never been about the glamour. To me this is the only kind of normal life I've ever known. (People) think I live in a castle and a moat ... what I do is a job, it does not take over my whole life."

She's her very own worst critic, she says. She sometimes still cringes when she sees herself on TV, and is as equally harsh with herself when it comes to her move in Singapore. On that note, she concludes our interview. "I'm not content with what I've done so far in Singapore, but it will get better. Talk to me again in six months!"